Editor Dad: The greatest show at breakfast

Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus may be done, but that doesn't mean the circus is dead. It has just moved to breakfast.

David Manley CantonRep.com business editor

Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus may be done, but that doesn't mean the circus is dead. It has just moved to breakfast.

My 5-year-old was very pleased to see me sit down on the couch one sunny morning. A show was about to start.

"Good to see you here today, sir," she said as I tied my shoe laces.

I thanked her. "It's good to see you here today, too, sir," I replied.

"You are just in time for a special performance that will melt your brain!" she announced this to the whole room even though it was just the two of us.

I, literally, sat on the edge of my seat.

She called for her little sister, who appeared from the other room at a full sprint. Her bare feet pounded on the wood floor. They both still wore pajamas.

Breakfast was slowly being eaten. Little kids like to enjoy a leisurely breakfast that can stretch from an hour to several days. And each bite demands a new pose. My 2-year-old leaned on the coffee table, put one leg up on the couch and popped a blueberry into her mouth.

I asked if she was going to shoot her little sister out of a cannon. "Because it really feels like that sort of energy in here," I said.

"What? No!" she responded. "That's just nuts."

I continued. "Because I think your mom has very strict 'no-shooting-your-sister-out-of-a-cannon' policy."

"No, that is not happening," she said deadpan.

She laughed to herself at the audacity of my comment, shaking her head. Then she looked me hard in the eye. "I am going to throw her across the room!"

She shushed me with the wave of a finger when I pointed out the hypocrisy of her announcement. "It's totally different," she said.

"Go into your shape," she commanded her little sister.

She nodded to get her sister moving. "Go into your shape, just like we practiced."

Her sister looked at her. "No," she said from one side of her head as her eyes moved to the other side. She popped another blueberry into her mouth.

"Ah, it's a lion taming routine," I joked.

She looked at her little sister and whispered strong encouragement. My littlest got face-to-face with her sister, giggled and whispered "no."

Sibling rivalry is the most entertaining part of the day. Just as my oldest was about to burst, her little sister relented. She acted as if she ready to go but had been waiting on her older sister to start the show.

She put her hands on the coffee table and pushed her feet on the edge of the couch so she made an arch. And she giggled.

My oldest, also giggling, picked her up, announced that she would "now launch her across the room," and dumped her on the couch. They popped up, bowed and waited for applause.

"Wow, amazing, she went so far!" I said, while clapping. "Are you going to take the show on the road?"

"No," she said, "the couch is too heavy."

David Manley is a husband, father and newspaper editor at The Canton Repository. Share your stories with him at david.manley@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @DaveManley

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